Well-renowned actor Murray Melvin has died from complications caused by a fall in December. According to Creative Director Kerry Kyriacos Michael MBE, Murray died “at St Thomas’ Hospital on Friday, 14th April, aged 90.”

“He was one of my closest friends,” Kyriacos says in a Twitter post, “and will be missed by so many of us who had the privilege to know him.”

After his work as a stage manager for set designer John Bury, Melvin made his 1957 stage debut at the Theatre Royal in Stratford for a performance as the queen’s messenger in Macbeth. He soon branched out to other theatrical roles, including Geoffrey in A Taste of Honey and Fred Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. He would later reprise his role as Geoffrey in the film adaptation of A Taste of Honey in 1961 and earn both the BAFTA film award for Most Promising Newcomer and the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor. Soon, he went on to star in films alongside big names like Michael Caine and Stanley Kubrick in films like Alfie (1966) and Barry Lyndon (1975).

His filmography includes roles in H.M.S. Defiant (1962), The Devils (1971), Noonday Sun (1985), and The Lost City of Z (2017). In 2007, he gained more recognition in the Doctor Who spin-off series Torchwood as the villainous Bilis Manger, which he later reprised for Doctor Who audiobooks produced by Big Finish Productions from 2017 onwards.

Welsh Doctor Who screenwriter Russell T. Davies paid tribute to Melvin in an Instagram post, calling him a gentleman. “He lived through a century that saw the understanding of his identity change so profoundly,” Davies espouses, “and he did so with dignity, class, and wit.” In Melvin’s last email to Davies, he concludes by saying, “Take care. We still cannot afford to take chances.”

There is no news about any immediate survivors or memorial services for Melvin.